1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic performance device for electronic musical instruments, and more particularly to an automatic performance device which is capable of searching automatic performance data by means of fast forward (FF) or rewind (REW) function, measure by measure.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there are used automatic performance devices which carry out automatic performance by reading performance data from a memory at given tempo. Some conventional automatic performance devices are provided with fast forward (FF) and rewind (REW) functions for high-speed searching of a portion of performance data a musical tone from which the user desires to listen to. Such automatic performance devices are adapted to read performance data at a high speed by moving the reading pointer forward or backward by a predetermined amount and stopping the pointer at a desired point of the performance data, by means of the fast forward and rewind functions, as proposed, e.g. by Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 1(1989)-180596.
However, the predetermined amount by which the pointer is moved each time is always set to a fixed amount, e.g. an amount corresponding to one measure. As a result, when a change occurs in the time due to time data provided at an intermediate portion of the performance data while searching is carried out by using such fast forward or rewind function, the pointer can be often stopped at a point different from a measure line. Further, according to the conventional automatic performance devices, the stopping point is determined by counting time information contained in the performance data, which requires much time for the searching to be performed.